Capurgana via terrestre

gorgonabob says on Dec 11, 2006, 16:42:

. i have taken buses all over the country, normally by night. the Medellin - Turbo overnight bus trip is one i WILL NOT take. people are kidnapped and murdered along that route quite regularly.. i alway recommend people at my hostal to take the day bus... dont go at night.

the guerilla is quite big around a town called Dabeiba i think it is and they are often setting up road blocks and kindapping and also killing taxi drivers..

just leave during the day

kelvin

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Atrevido says on Dec 11, 2006, 16:44:

It is always considered a bad idea to take a night bus in Colombia. Yes some foreigners do it and nothing happens but it increases the risk by a big factor. If you make it ok you will love Capurgana however as far as swimming in the ocean there is a strong current paralleling the beach so you have to enter at the north end in order to be able to spend time in the water before being carried to the south end. There is good forest hiking in several directions from the village.

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bufalo says on Dec 11, 2006, 17:31:

Hope this isn't hijacking a thread, but since this traveller is going there, it may help. How nice is Capurgana? And safety wise? Is it a city or village.....

"If you don't like it - lump it, take it down the road and dump it." - Archie Bunker played by Carroll O'Connor

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utopiacowboy says on Dec 11, 2006, 17:35:

Why Capurgana? It seems to me that there are many other places along the Colombian coast that are just as nice. Or not? What's the deal?

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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gorgonabob says on Dec 11, 2006, 18:33:

please IGNORE the post by Atrevido who obviously knows very little about travelling by bus in Colombia... I talk to about 2000 backpackers a year who take night buses in Colombia. It is very safe. to say it is always considered a bad idea to take a night bus is just dumb and uninformed im sorry

The bus route Medellin - Turbo is one of the few dangerous bus routes in the country... but relatively safe for travel by day.. this route has in the past been closed for all trafic at night because of the risk.. just go by day and youll be fine.. alternatively go by night from medellin to arboletes (direct bus at 8.30pm) and enjoy the best mud volcano in the country and then go to turbo a few hours west

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Atrevido says on Dec 12, 2006, 13:44:

To the self appointed expert on Colombia bus travel: wrong! I have traveled to numerous destinations by bus from Riohacha in the north to Pasto in the south so stick your litle insults where the sun don´t shine. Whether you like to hear it or not the risk of running into FARC roadblocks or having the bus robbed by dilinquentes comunes is far higher at night. Every Colombian knows that. Last year for example there was a FARC reten between Cali and Popayan and the occupants of a buseta were kidnapped. This is a route that is heavily trafficked in the daytime when no one would think twice about making the two hour trip.

To Bufalo, Capurganá is a village on the Gulf of Urabá in the department of Chocó, very close to the Panama border. It has a short strip of pleasant beach along which some wealthy paisas have constructed several small (by San Andres standards) hotels and offer all inclusive packages. One is Almar www.almar.com.co They are popular with honeymooners from Medellin. There are also a number of very inexpensive lodgings, one on the beach and others in the village. As I said above there are foot/horse trails going down the coast, up the coast and into the interior. On that last there is a small botanical garden set in the woods if you hike the trail that begins at the end of the landing strip. There are one or two motos in the village but that is the extent of mechanized transportation since there are no roads in the area. The Almar offers a scuba class and ocean dive for about twenty $25 US. Boats travel daily to and from Turbo. There are no safety issues. The army is in the surrounding mountains. Some years ago the FARC entered the village. They did not come to attack but were apparently in bad shape and came for food and medicine from the drogaría. The police stayed by their station and the FARC stayed on the other side of the village. I've been there three times and hope to return. If you want to read better bring something. The only magazines I found in the village were old issues of Watchtower.

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gorgonabob says on Dec 12, 2006, 14:57:

im sorry but the statement

'it is always considered a bad idea to take a night bus in colombia

is wrong. its as simple as that. you said it i disagreed. can i not disagree and yes I probably know a little more about bus travel in Colombia than you.

Journeys that I would not make at night in bus are

Medellin - Turbo
Medellin - Quibdo
Quibdo - Pereira
Cali - south
Bogota - south

pretty much any other route by night between major towns/ cities is safe.

yes travelling by bus at night is more risky than during the day. but this is not what you said... you said it is always considered a bad idea to take a night bus in colombia. and that is wrong and i have to disagree

there you go.

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gorgonabob says on Dec 12, 2006, 15:11:

Capurgana ive been to Capurgana and around, also stayed in the almar.. however id say the pacific coast is superior

id head for El Valle, south of Bahia Solano.. There are no buses there so you wont have to worry about being kidnapped either. If you want to check out some info and pics about El Valle go to this page

http://www.blacksheepmedellin.com/bahiasolano.html

you can fly direct from medellin to bahia solano for 400.000 pesos return. two flights a day, ADA and Satena.

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Atrevido says on Dec 12, 2006, 16:08:

Well Bob you don´t know what I know about bus travel in Colombia and I don´t know what you I know so there you have it. I went to El Valle in 2002 (stayed at Hotel El valle in the village but the cabañas out on the beach such as El Almejal www.almejal.com.co are probobly more comfortable) and I have been to Jerry the Dutchmans´s place Refugio Mr Jerry a short launch ride from Bahia Solano. I have also been to Juanchaco and Los Ladrilleros near Buenaventura (don´t recomend it). Just a couple of months ago I visited Piedra Piedra forty minutes by launch south of Nuquí and that to date is my favorite place on the Pacific coast.

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gorgonabob says on Dec 12, 2006, 17:49:

the only problem i had with your comment was this statement.

It is always considered a bad idea to take a night bus in Colombia.

because its flaty wrong. I don't believe that the four or so thousand people that take a night bus between Medellin and Bogota every night would agree with you.. nor the tens of thousands of other Colombians who take night buses in this country every day

while i may not be the authority on bus travel in this country, every day i talk to several people who are about to or have just taken a night bus... just tonight about ten travellers are leaving for Cartagena from Medellin on bus. Most of them arrived on overnight buses from Cali or Bogota. I can tell you that they know as I know that bus travel on major routes in Colombia is safe. Because if it was not they would not be taking night buses

I would appoint Herman, owner of the Platypus in Bogota as the expert on bus travel, because he has had over 25,000 backpackers pass through his doors in the last ten years most travelling by bus and I am sure he knows more than you, me or anyone else combined. I would be surprised if he did not share my views.

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Atrevido says on Dec 12, 2006, 18:35:

All right Bob first of all his name is German not Herman. Second of all my brother in law´s brother is in fact a driver for a national bus line and he cites many many incidents where his bus has been stopped AT NIGHT by groups of ten to twenty armed "piratas" who board the bus and search the passengers for money. He witnessed one woman shot on his bus because she resisted robbers attempts to search her person. On another ocaision a woman had a screaming child and a robber told her she had three minutes to shut the kid up or he would kill it. For these people on these ocaisions it was a bad idea, a very bad idea to take a night bus.

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gorgonabob says on Dec 13, 2006, 05:08:

right give it a rest..

the fact is

it is NOT always a bad idea to take a night bus in colomba

PERIOD

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aztec says on Dec 13, 2006, 05:24:

May be a GREAT idea... ...to ride all over Colombia in a bus at night. But you can bet your a.. this gringo is not about to do it!

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Atrevido says on Dec 13, 2006, 11:30:

Rest up yourself kiddo I say it IS!

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bufalo says on Dec 14, 2006, 05:23:

Funny, I always tell travelers it is best not to travel at night, but yet I always do and have never had a problem. It's just my instinct to tell them that, especially because it was really bad years ago, but not so much any more.
Then again I'm constantly doing things here that people say is a no-no

"If you don't like it - lump it, take it down the road and dump it." - Archie Bunker played by Carroll O'Connor

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gorgonabob says on Dec 14, 2006, 11:15:

look it may well be better to travel during the day.. true there will be less chance of trouble.. however thats like saying its safer not to ride your bike at night or its best not to be out when it rains and lightening may well strike you and kill you, which does happen quite often in colombia

but to say one should not travel by bus at night in colombia is silly because i can tell you that 95% of backpackers do travel by night in colombia and they very very very seldom encounter any trouble.

im just going to talk about my personal experience over the last 17 months as owner of a hostel in colombia and having had over 2,000 backpackers pass through the doors in that time. I am also in the hostal most of the time and have talked to around 95% of those 2,000. It is also fair to say that of those 2000 travellers, 95% or more will take a night bus in Colombia. Some will also take several night buses as they aim to save money on accommodation. I can also tell you that when a bus is held up or people are kidnapped robbed etc word gets around very quickly and they would tell me I am sure.. So out of nearly 2,000 backpackers taking several thousand buses in the last 17 months I have been told personally of about 5-8 bad situations...

1. a bus from Cartagena-Medellin was stopped by people connected to the guerilla. the people were asked to collect there belongings and leave the bus. they also got to take there bags out of the hold. the bus was then set alight and the guerilla left. they did not steal anything, harm anyone or kidnapp anyone. This was during elections

2. a dutch women on a bus from Bogota - Manizales was robbed of a few belongings by a guy sitting in front of her. He had a gun and also robbed the rest of the passengers.

3. an american guy was drugged after eating cookies offered to him by the old guy sitting next to him. he passed out for the rest of the bus ride and woke up groggy without his money and ipod. the guy left his passport and credit card strangely enough

4. three or so people having there hand luggage in the bus stolen why they were sleeping.

those are the only problems i have heard of by guests at this hostal over the last 17 months.. that is not a lot of problems

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bufalo says on Dec 15, 2006, 05:31:

Those seem to be about the more dangerous "busing it at night" stories that I have heard in the last few years. Every now and then, there is one bus that has something major happen to it, but if looked at with the thousands of other buses that run every night, it really isn't that bad. Most of the travellers I have met bus it at night too.

"If you don't like it - lump it, take it down the road and dump it." - Archie Bunker played by Carroll O'Connor

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gorgonabob says on Dec 15, 2006, 08:49:

its no worse than Peru or Ecuador thats for sure.. in fact id say your more likely to run into trouble there than here.. especially tourist related crime

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bufalo says on Dec 16, 2006, 08:20:

I thought Capurganá was part of Antioquia? I think I even saw it on the map. My wife has always been told it was really bad there. When we got married, we thought of going there 4 years ago and the travel agent here in Armenia wouldn't sell us tickets. (which must have meant something, I mean don't they want sales?)

"If you don't like it - lump it, take it down the road and dump it." - Archie Bunker played by Carroll O'Connor

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webmanco says on Dec 16, 2006, 08:27:

High season Run out tickets :)

...A yo, déjenme queto y no me jodan má! ...

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Atrevido says on Dec 16, 2006, 09:47:

Travel agencies might have dicouraged visits there right after the guerrilla incursion but I think that was more than four years ago. Anyway it´s in Chocó and is perfectly safe to visit.

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gorgonabob says on Dec 16, 2006, 13:00:

almost as safe as taking a night bus in colombia you could say atrevido...

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Atrevido says on Dec 16, 2006, 16:42:

More usefull Colombia info Another usefull post from Blowhard Bob!

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bufalo says on Dec 17, 2006, 07:57:

What is webmanco talking about?

"If you don't like it - lump it, take it down the road and dump it." - Archie Bunker played by Carroll O'Connor

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